Shepherd Neame brewery has insisted it does not discriminate against rough sleepers after a poster in the staff room at a Broadstairs pub and hotel sparked outrage on social media today (November 20).
The poster, which was pinned up in the staff area at the Royal Albion Hotel, instructs staff not to have any contact with “the homeless people situated outside Costa or nearby.”
The poster author said there had been a run in and police had been contacted. It adds: “They are not welcome in here for toilet, to charge phones or anything else.”
Shepherd Neame, which owns the hotel, said the message, although poorly worded, followed threats to staff and advice from police.
An outraged resident shared the poster on facebook, saying: “Choose whether your money goes to gentrification and refusing a homeless person the humanity of knowing your name, or a decent local business which cares about the community upon which it is built.”
But a Shepherd Neame spokesman said the poster did not reflect company policy but was due to the threat to staff.
The spokesman said: “Following an incident in which it is alleged one of our members of staff was threatened, police advised not to engage with the individuals concerned.
“While this was communicated poorly in a poster placed in a staff room, this was by no means an official document, nor does it reflect the views of the company towards homeless people.
“To clarify, we do not discriminate against anyone. We do however, take the wellbeing of our staff very seriously.”
